Cancer risk in men to rise

Cancer Research UK has predicted that men's risk of cancer will increase in the next 15 years.

The charity said because people were living longer, the danger of men developing cancer would rise from 44 in 100 to 50 in 100, or a one in two chance of getting the disease.

Researchers from the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine at Queen Mary, University of London, and Cancer Research UK made the predictions by reviewing incidences of past cancer and mortality rates, and projected population data for the UK.

The team said 416,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with the disease by 2027, in comparison to 324,000 people diagnosed two years ago.

The number of men diagnosed with cancer will increase from 164,000 in 2010 to 221,000 in 2027.

The male cancers predicted to show the largest increases are skin, prostate and bowel cancers.

Professor Alan White, chairman of the Men's Health Forum and professor of men's health at Leeds Metropolitan University, said: "It's desperately important that men take up any opportunity to go for cancer screening that they can.

"Some men are fatalistic about cancer and screening. But screening does make a difference. If cancers are spotted earlier they are easier to treat.

"We also know that men who discuss screening with their doctor or their partner are more likely to take up the offer."